About Me
My Work
At this time my primary interest as an artist is to communicate my thoughts about urban society. The subjects I choose to express could well be handled by a photo-journalist or a videographer however the medium of paint offers a different perspective and thereby a consideration for the viewer that surpasses documentary realism.
Much of my work is based in narrative realism, and I do use B&W photography for visual research, in addition to sketches and colour studies to finalise compositions. The original photography serves as a basis for me to re-interpret the imagery and express the visual drama that underlies the subject.
My influences are drawn from international contemporary urban landscape artists such as Allessandro Papetti, Doniela Gullota and Canadian artists Erin McSavaney and the late Brian Kipping.
Biography
I have always been a visually oriented person so it would seem natural for me to become a fine artist yet my entry into art only began in the 1983. I took a keen interest in fine art photography and film making as a means of expressing my creativity which led me to pencil sketching, mixed media and collage. My artistic development continued with regular life drawing and studies at the Toronto School of Art and then progressed to two years of formal training at the Nelson Studio for Classical Art, an atelier in Toronto. In the meantime I practiced scenic art and design with local theatre companies and found regular employment as a movie scenic painter.
I moved to Vancouver in 2000 and continued training under master artists Paul Chizik and Michael Britten. I joined the Federation of Canadian Artists in 2005 and exhibited in juried shows at their Granville Island gallery a number of times. My first solo show was in 2007 at the Britannia Gallery in East Vancouver and further to that I took commissions for portraits and illustrations while continuing to exhibit at shows around the Lower Mainland of BC and on Vancouver Island.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Solo Show
2023 Gallery George, Vancouver. “Sunsets Across Vancouver.”
2023 Britannia Gallery, Vancouver. “Sunsets Across Vancouver.”
2020 Britannia Gallery, Vancouver. "The Demise of Woodwards" series.
Gibsons Public Art Gallery, Gibsons B.C. “City-Seen” series.
2017 The Plaskett Gallery, New Westminster. “City-Seen” series.
2016 Granville Island Arts Society, Vancouver. “City-Seen” series.
2015 The Vancouver East Cultural Centre. “City-Seen” series.
2014 Britannia Gallery, Vancouver. “Do You KnowWho I Am?” Recent portraits.
2009 The Foyer Gallery, Squamish BC. “NarrativeRealism.” Recent paintings.
2008 Presentation House Theatre, North Vancouver. Selected Paintings.
Basic Inquiry Centre for the Figurative Arts, Vancouver. Figurative work.
2007 Britannia Gallery, Vancouver. “Holding the Moment.” Recent paintings.
Group Shows
2022 Delta Arts Guild, Surrey: 1 8th annual Oil and Water juried exhibition.
2016 Unison Construction Management, Vancouver. “Exclamation” curated exhibition.
2015 Federation of Canadian Artists,Vancouver: 5th annual AIRS juried exhibition.
2014 The Burnaby Museum, Burnaby BC. “At the Movies” curated exhibition.
2012 Delta Arts Guild, Surrey: 8th annual Oil and Water juried exhibition.
2011 Basic Inquiry Centre for the Figurative Arts, Vancouver. “The Peter Read Memorial Exhibition".
Delta Arts Guild, Surrey: 7th annual Oil and Water juried exhibition, Creative Spirit Award.
2010 THOS Gallery, Qualicum Beach, BC: Curated winter exhibition.
2007 Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver: Artist’s choice juried exhibition.
Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver: 5th annual Painting on the Edge juried exhibition.
Delta Arts Guild, Surrey: 3rd annual Oil and Water juried exhibition, Award of merit.
Britannia Gallery, Vancouver: “Feast” curated exhibition
2006 Sidney & Gertrude Zack Gallery, Vancouver: “The Art of Sport” curated exhibition.
Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver: Monochrome show juried exhibition.
Federation of Canadian Artists, Vancouver: Spontaneity show juried exhibition.
2005 Federation of Canadian Artists,Vancouver: 3rd annual Painting on the Edge juried exhibition
Delta Arts Guild, Surrey: 1st annual Oil and Water juried exhibition.
2001 Surrey Arts Council: annual juried exhibition, 1st place award.
MEDIA REVIEWS
2017 The New Westminster Record. Quarter page review.
2015 Subject: City-Seen: an unheralded look at development.
The National Post newspaper. Full page feature.
The Vancouver Sun newspaper.Side bar review.
Interview by Terry David Mulligan at Roundhouse Radio FM 98.3 Vancouver.
2009 The Squamish Chief. Quarter page review.